‘Mild Stroke’ Forces Dickey Betts to Cancel Tour

Following what his doctors deemed a mild stroke, guitarist Dickey Betts has cancelled an upcoming string of tour dates.

The brief string of three dates in Syracuse, N.Y.; Wallingford, Conn.; and Hampton Beach, N.H., that were set to begin Tuesday was canceled after the Allman Brothers Band alum was diagnosed with "post-stroke repercussions." It is not clear when Betts suffered the stroke.

“Yesterday, after describing to his physicians certain post-stroke repercussions, he was strongly advised to give himself more time to recuperate,” his website noted this morning. “Doctors have assured Betts that after three to five weeks he will be 100 percent recovered and can resume his touring schedule.”

“Dickey really regrets that he can’t be there for his fans,” his manager David Spero said in the release, “but he has to take care of his health first.”

Betts, 74, plans to get back on the road in time for his Nov. 1 show in Augusta, Ga., and hopes to reschedule this week's canceled appearances in Connecticut and New Hampshire (the New York date was part of the state fair, so that will be a little trickier to re-schedule.)

The "Ramblin' Man" had just returned to the road in May, after announcing his retirement in November of last year. Prior to that, he hadn't played with his band in more than three years.

"It's a little bit of burnout, a little sour grapes, a little bit like a boxer who gives it up. It's pretty tough, to tell you the truth," he said at the time. "Everyone wishes they could be young forever. But I feel like I did my work, and I'm not gonna do anything that's gonna top what I'm known for. So why don't you just stay home?"

But the sentiment didn't last long. Three weeks later, he was planning a tour with the Dickey Betts Band, which included his son and fellow guitarist, Duane Betts.

“When I turned 70 years old, I just figured I wanted to go fishing and play golf and mess around and stuff, so I decided I would retire," he said of the reversal. "Well, I got bored as hell sitting around here. Then I do this Rolling Stone interview – just to be friendly, I wasn't really working on a career or nothing – and when it came out, the promoters starting calling me, offering me good money to go out and play again. I was bored, and they wanted me back. That's the way it happened."